If I knew then what I know now...
At A Glance Author Erin Contact arabmonkey47@hotmail.com When Six months ago Artist Irwin Studio Tattoo Styles Location Johannesburg, South Africa It was about nine months ago when I decided to get my nipples pierced. I'm not really sure what made me do it to be honest, but then again, I'm the type of person that just does things spur of the moment. I had been thinking about doing it for about a month. I guess that was after cousin was thinking about piercing his girlfriend's. He made it sound really nice and afterwards I kept thinking that it was time that I got a "real" piercing. I had don naval twice, but nothing real. I didn't tell my boyfriend because I wanted to surprise him. Only afterwards did I learn that you are not allowed to have anyone else's bodily fluids (from sweat, to saliva, to semen) for the next two months.
I'm friends with the piercing guy so I went in to talk to him first. He explained the procedure to me. He was very friendly as he always is (but maybe that's just because we have a little thing going on). He told me that it was going to hurt for quite a while, but in the end it would make my nipples much more sensitive. Although I was nervous and a bit apprehensive, I still wanted to do it. I came in three days later...
I brought my best friend with me for moral support. We walked in and it wasn't very crowded, but then again it was a Tuesday morning. We picked out the ring, and he brought me into the piercing room. It felt really awkward when he told me to take off my shirt, but we were friends so it really wasn't that bad. He explained to me that he had to make my nipples hard before he could pierce them. By this point you could see my heart beating in my chest. I was so nervous! He marked the spot and asked if I was ready.
He then decided to wait a few minutes because he didn't want to pierce me while I was that nervous, so he sat and held my hand for a minute or two and then it was time....
I would say that he used probably the biggest needle I have ever seen in my entire life and I screamed loud enough for people on the next block to hear. The pain is hard to describe. It's like the most intense burning stinging sensation that you could ever think of times about 10. I was bleeding a lot, but was relieved when it was all over. Then he asked me, "Up for another one?" Hey why not? I figured that I couldn't be in any more pain than I already was....too bad I was wrong.
He proceeded to do my second nipple n exactly the same fashion as the first. By this time I was in so much pain I don't think I felt it as much. When he finished the room was spinning. Ahhh!!!! But it was such an intense rush! Definitely worth my money, and even the pain.
Now the bad news: It's been 8 months, and my left nipple is totally healed. My right one is a different story though! It's nit really infected, but there are like blood blisters on both sides of the hole. When I take my bra off, many times there is blood on it and it still throbs with pain quite frequently. I had another piercer look at it and the first thing they said was, "My god, who did this to you?!".
I tried changing the jewelry because I was also told that my ring was way too large and the problem might be the weight pulling down on the hole. I switched to a bar rather than a ring in hopes that this would help. Unfortunately it hasn't though. I even went back to the original guy who did it, and he doesn't know what the problem is either.
My friend who came with me that day had also planned to get hers done, but after the way I reacted, she said that she would never get it done. I don't mean to scare anyone off of getting their nipples pierced. I have seen some healthy ones (and even my left one is) that look wonderful. My boyfriend loves them and has nicknamed them "the girls". After having this done I really felt like I could do anything (piercing wise) because I was told that this was one of the most painful piercing one could get.
Looking back on it, I'm still glad that I got it done, but I do regret it sometimes when it really hurts. I clean it everyday but nothing has seemed to work, and I think I'm almost to the point of taking it out, and leaving the healthy one. This is definitely not a piercing for everyone to get. But, despite my misfortune, I would recommend it for those of you who can handle it.